{"id":324122,"date":"2019-10-21T09:02:11","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T07:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=324122"},"modified":"2019-10-21T17:02:44","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T15:02:44","slug":"the-first-smartphones-made-in-south-africa-pricing-and-specifications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/smartphones\/324122-the-first-smartphones-made-in-south-africa-pricing-and-specifications.html","title":{"rendered":"The first smartphones made in South Africa &#8211; Pricing and specifications"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mara Phones has officially opened the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/business\/324030-inside-south-africas-first-smartphone-factory-photos.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first smartphone manufacturing facility in South Africa<\/a><\/strong>, located in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.<\/p>\n<p>The manufacturing plant is the result of a R1.5-billion investment by Mara Phones that was supported by the government, and the opening on 17 October 2019 was attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa.<\/p>\n<p>Mara Phones aims to deliver high-quality smartphones at affordable prices for South African consumers, and it has started off by manufacturing two products &#8211; the Mara X and Mara Z.<\/p>\n<p>These devices are described as having long-lasting batteries, immense storage space, and Android One certified \u2013 which means they are guaranteed to receive Android updates for two years.<\/p>\n<p>The Mara X and Mara Z are available to purchase from the <a href=\"https:\/\/maraphones.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Mara Phones website<\/strong><\/a> and are priced as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mara X \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/maraphones.com\/product\/mara-x\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">R2,999<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Mara Z \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/maraphones.com\/product\/mara-z\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">R3,999<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Mara X and Mara Z are available in three colours &#8211; Black, Gold, and Silver.<\/p>\n<p>We have compared the specifications and features of both smartphones below.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Hardware and Design<\/h3>\n<p>The Mara Z and Mara X feature similar designs and sizes, although the Mara Z is slightly larger and sports higher-end hardware.<\/p>\n<p>The Mara Z has a 5.7-inch display and the Mara X has a 5.5-inch screen, and both displays have the same resolution of 1,440 x 720.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to chipsets, the more expensive Mara Z boasts a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 CPU, while the cheaper Mara X has a Mediatek MT6739 chip.<\/p>\n<p>The rear cameras of both smartphones are identical, but the front-facing camera of the Mara Z boasts a 13MP lens compared to the Mara X&#8217;s 5MP selfie camera.<\/p>\n<p>The more expensive Mara Z also includes better network capabilities, as well as much better RAM and storage specifications.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Software<\/h3>\n<p>While there are some major hardware differences between the two Mara Phone models, the biggest difference is their operating systems.<\/p>\n<p>Both smartphones run Google&#8217;s Android 9 operating system, but the Mara Phone X runs the &#8220;Go&#8221; version of this software.<\/p>\n<p>Due to its comparatively low amount of memory, this handset runs a more lightweight version of Android 9 designed for cheaper smartphones with 1GB of RAM or less.<\/p>\n<p>This means that while its version of Android uses less storage space and memory, the Mara X will not have all the advanced features of the Mara Z, which runs a full version of Android 9.<\/p>\n<p>The specifications and pricing of the Mara X and Mara Z are detailed below.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Mara-Phones-header.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-324124\" src=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Mara-Phones-header.jpg\" alt=\"Mara Phones header\" width=\"640\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Mara-Phones-header.jpg 640w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Mara-Phones-header-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Mara-Phones-header-595x400.jpg 595w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"mybb_table\">\n<div class=\"table-responsive\"><table class=\"table\" style=\"width: 100%;\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"7\">\n<thead>\n<tr style=\"background-color: #003366; font-weight: bold; color: #fff;\">\n<th style=\"text-align: left;\">Specifications<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align: left;\">Mara X<\/th>\n<th style=\"text-align: left;\">Mara Z<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>OS<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Android 9.0 Go<\/td>\n<td>Android 9.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"20%\"><strong>Display<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"40%\">5.5-inch 1,440 x 720 IPS LCD<\/td>\n<td width=\"40%\">5.7-inch 1,440 x 720 IPS LCD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Processor<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Mediatek MT6739<\/td>\n<td>Snapdragon 435<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>RAM<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>1GB<\/td>\n<td>3GB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Storage<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>16GB, MicroSD up to 128GB<\/td>\n<td>32GB, MicroSD up to 128GB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Rear camera<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>13MP<\/td>\n<td>13MP<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Front camera<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>5MP<\/td>\n<td>13MP<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Connectivity<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, MicroUSB, 3.5mm audio<\/td>\n<td>802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, MicroUSB, 3.5mm audio<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Network<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>LTE Cat 4<\/td>\n<td>LTE Cat 7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Battery<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>3,500mAh<\/td>\n<td>3,050mAh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Dimensions<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>150.0 x 70.5 x 8.59 mm<\/td>\n<td>154.2 x 72.7 x 7.96 mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Price<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>R2,999<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>R3,999<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Mara X<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Gold_SilverX.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-324094\" src=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Gold_SilverX-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"Gold_SilverX\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Gold_SilverX-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Gold_SilverX-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Gold_SilverX-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Gold_SilverX.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GoldMaraX.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-324096\" src=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GoldMaraX-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"GoldMaraX\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GoldMaraX-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GoldMaraX-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GoldMaraX-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/GoldMaraX.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Mara Z<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/BlackMaraZ.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-324092\" src=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/BlackMaraZ-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"BlackMaraZ\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/BlackMaraZ-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/BlackMaraZ-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/BlackMaraZ-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/BlackMaraZ.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/MaraZ.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-324098\" src=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/MaraZ-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"MaraZ\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/MaraZ-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/MaraZ-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/MaraZ-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/MaraZ.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Now read: <a href=\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/smartphones\/323904-motorola-event-invite-teases-foldable-razr.html\" rel=\"bookmark\">Motorola event invite teases foldable Razr<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mara Phones has officially opened the first smartphone manufacturing facility in South Africa, located in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341028,"featured_media":324126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17934],"tags":[397,35,61444,40488,75,42234],"class_list":["post-324122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-smartphones","tag-android","tag-headline","tag-mara-phones","tag-pricing","tag-south-africa","tag-specifications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324122"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341028"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324122"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":324250,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324122\/revisions\/324250"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}